As apex predators, sharks are crucially important to the health of the world’s oceans, but are being wiped out on a massive scale – an estimated 100 million killed annually, mostly for shark fin soup, an Asian delicacy. Sharks also breed slowly. WWF offices in the Asia-Pacific region are campaigning to get their countries to stop importing, selling and consuming shark fin.

“WWF’s Year of the Tiger campaign in 2010 was central to mobilizing the global effort to save the tiger. With many partners, we helped shape the global strategy to double tiger numbers. And in the tiger range states, we worked with governments and others to create the national plans that underpin it.” Jim Leape – former WWF International Director General

One of the main drivers of biodiversity loss is environmentally unsustainable development of infrastructure such as roads and dams. Ill-planned roads can cut through fragile wetlands and give illegal loggers access to pristine forest. Bad dams can destroy entire freshwater ecosystems. WWF has a strong track record of successfully campaigning against such negative developments, particularly dams, and is active in high conservation priority rivers such as the Mekong and Amazon to stop bad dams.